Longtime CNN anchor Jim Acosta said Tuesday that he’s leaving the network after nearly 20 years, telling viewers during a heartfelt signoff not to “give into the lies.”
“After giving all of this some careful consideration and weighing an alternative time slot CNN offered me, I have decided to move on,” Acosta said on the air.
He told viewers that many people have asked if the highlight of his 18 years at CNN was covering President Trump, with whom he frequently sparred.
“Actually no,” Acosta said. “That moment came … when I covered former President Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba in 2016 and had the chance to question the dictator there, Raul Castro, about the island’s political prisoners.”
Acosta, the son of a Cuban refugee, said he took one lesson from that reporting assignment.
“It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant,” Acosta said. “I have always believed it’s the job of the press to hold power to account. I’ve always tried to do that at here at CNN, and I plan on doing all of that in the future.”
He also left viewers with “one final message.”
“Don’t give into the lies,” Acosta said. “Don’t give into the fear. Hold onto truth, and to hope. … I’ll have more to say about my plans in the coming days but until then, I want to thank all of you for tuning in. It has been an honor to be welcomed into your home for all these years.”
Trump acknowledged the announcement on Truth Social.
“Wow, really good news!” Trump wrote. “Jim Acosta, one of the worst and most dishonest reporters in journalistic history, a major sleazebag, has been relegated by CNN Fake News to the Midnight hour, ‘Death Valley,’ because of extraordinarily BAD RATINGS (and no talent!). Word is that he wants to QUIT, and that would be even better. Jim is a major loser who will fail no matter where he ends up. Good luck Jim!”
Longtime Beltway reporter Chris Cillizza, who publishes a widely read daily politics newsletter, said via X that Acosta’s departure could be a harbinger for the second Trump administration.
“Jim Acosta being forced out of CNN is the latest sign that legacy media is working to accommodate Donald Trump in ways considered unimaginable during his first term,” he wrote.
